Last month, the fine folks at Cleckheaton sent over one of their beanie kits for review. After reading their story, I was pretty curious just how soft the yarn would be. It comes from specially selected sheep and is milled right there in Victoria. Australia’s finest is right here in south Texas! I wondered if THIS would finally be the wool my kids would not complain about.

This photo is straight from my Instagram. I got so excited after it came that I took the photo and cast on immediately, without taking out my camera for a proper photo. The kit has two balls of Australian Superfine Merino and a two-colour beanie pattern, which you can find for free here, along with a good assortment of other patterns. Those baby sweaters are making me swoon! My cousins and sisters are refusing to procreate for me! I just want a baby to knit for, take photos of, cuddle, and send back. Is that too much to ask?*

Anyway…the colors are gorgeous! This gray is called “iceberg” and it is the perfect name. Icy cold with subtle hints of blue when you look at it a certain way. The orange is simply called “burnt orange” and it the warmest compliment to the gray. It’s a deep, rich pumpkin color and makes me miss fall.

So, what was the verdict? VERRRRY SOFT! We like. I don’t think he even knows it’s wool. I generally shove beanies on my kids’ heads and if they complain, I tell them to just deal with it until we get inside or get to the car. My youngest is the loudest complainer, but this guy tends to be more prone to allergy-like reactions. He’s mildly allergic to cats (proven with an allergy test), so most animal fibers are just meh to him. He doesn’t break out or have trouble breathing, thank God, but wool sweaters and hats aren’t his favorites. He liked this one, though! It’s got a good slouch and the pom pom is awesome.

The yarn definitely feels more silky smooth than other wools. It hasn’t shed or pilled at all in the past week or so that we’ve had it in rotation. The pattern was great, though I adjusted it to work in the round. I could not see myself working that much stockinette stitch flat! Luckily, it was easy to adapt the crown decreases and whatnot. I had a good time mindless knitting that stockinette in the round. The kit comes in an itty bitty project bag that was great to tote the beanie-in-progress around. I knit in a taqueria!

I can really see myself using this yarn for other projects. There are so many colors to choose from! I want to get my hands on some of that mustard ASAP. Yellow is the color of my Spring and my heart is begging for a yellow lacey cardigan.

*My oldest turns TEN (10!) in exactly 3 months. I think he looks so grown up in that last photo! This has turned on something in my brain that makes me absolutely gooey over babies. Yes, I have the fever. The baby fever! If you have a baby and you see me, just let me carry them, ok? I’ll smooch their wittle face and hand them right back. Or I’ll put them in my knitting bag and take them home. I’m not 100% certain which flavor of baby-crazy I am, this week.

Click here if you want to try one of their Knit-it-Yourself beanie kits!

We are barreling toward Christmas and I just want things to slooooow down. For like a day, at least. Please? We put up our tree, this weekend, and I realized I haven’t bought ANY gifts. I finished knitting one glove, then moved on to deep cleaning/organizing both my living room and office (we FINALLY bought a couch! Another story for another day). I’m still not finished with that, but at least you can see my floor, now! I’m going to be one of those poor souls out shopping the weekend before Christmas. Maybe crying a bit in the car. We’ll see!

Anyway, I say all that to get to this: the Christmas card! In years past, I have taken and edited photos by early November. This year, we were a week into December and I still had no idea what we’d do! On Sunday, I started getting a little anxious about it, so I went outside with my boys and just took a bunch of shots. It was a cold+gray day, but they still had fun and we were all giggling around the yard. This shot ended up being my favorite. It isn’t perfect and they aren’t even looking at the camera, but it so wholly captures their joy for this season!

Last year, I entered my card into the Holiday Photo Challenge at thepapermama.com and it was great fun, so I’m entering this year, as well. She always has a quirky card to share. I kind of love that her chickens are in her photo, this year. Seriously. Go check it out: 2013 Holiday Photo Challenge @thepapermama! Enter your own card for a chance to win some super prizes.

Here are some outtakes from this year:

With a full heart, we wish you a happy Christmas! If you’re on my address list, you’ll hopefully get a card before the big day. If not, consider this your e-version!

Friday, my boys’ school broke uniform protocol and let the kids dress up like cowboys. It happens once a year and the older grades have a big ol’ hoedown with dancing and singing. It’s all great fun right before Spring Break. They looked like this before school–

The photos at top were taken at a Houston Garden Center. I went with my mom to browse and Andrew got pretty dang silly while we strolled through the Japanese boxwoods. I am glad I had my camera bag with me. I just pulled it out and snapped off a few frames.

I’m also glad that Spring is near. Everything is so lusciously green! The COLOR just makes me swoon. I was even happy for the cold front that pulled through because everything is looking so pretty anyway.

January 7, 2013. My kids’ 3-week vacation ends. We spent a chilly hour at the park.

I took photos with my Nikon 1 (affixed with the 18.5mm f/1.8 lens). I am in love with this little camera. I still adore my D7000, but this baby is just so handy! I also don’t feel like such a weirdo when I bring it out. The giant DSLR makes me feel like I’m screaming, “LOOK AT ME! I have a camera! I take photos! Ask me to take your photo!” when I bring it out. I need to work on my confidence.

Anyway. I love this camera and it helps me capture special moments with my boys. I didn’t even notice I was taking photos of each of them doing the same thing (sorta) while we were there.

They did some:

climbing,

crossing,

balancing, and of course–

sliding! Fast slides are the best.

It was pretty great. They’re back at school and, I gotta say, I miss these faces.

It’s finally here. We’ve been listening to Christmas music, drinking hot chocolate (though the weather is just ugh here in Houston), and decorating. I really like the inspiration this month brings. I want to make so many things. I want to knit all the time. I want to cover everything in stamps or glitter or washi tape. I really wish I felt like this every month of the year.

That lino up there might be my nemesis. It started nicely, but now that I’m done and actually making prints, I don’t know, man. I have had to fine tune it no less than 8 times. I keep finding itty bitty pieces to carve out. I got tempted to just throw it in the trash but, NO….I’ve worked way too hard to just let it go. I had a tough time getting my ink right, but some of the final prints I made last night during my test batch were actually pretty. Today, I finish up our Christmas card! I’m really excited because the photos I took of my boys for it might be my favorites yet. Outtakes:

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